For builders on a tight budget, a new CPU option is coming soon: the Core i3 10100F. This quad-core Comet Lake part is a new addition to Intel's lineup and is poised to go head-to-head with AMD's Ryzen 3 3300X.

Intel quietly added the 10100F to its ARK page without any announcements or fan promotions. Perhaps Intel is hesitant to tout the reversal of roles with the recently announced Ryzen 5000 series CPUs, with AMD aiming for the all-around performance crown and Intel targeting the budget market.

That's why ARK's listing shows a "recommended customer price" of $79 to $97. RCP applies to bulk purchases by retailers, and the actual price to consumers is generally (but not always) a bit higher. However, this price point leaves enough room to expect the 10100F to sell for less than $100, perhaps $89. As of yet, no vendor offers this new SKU, so we will have to wait and see.

The 10100F is a 10th generation Core part based on Intel's Comet Lake architecture. Like the non-F version (10100), it has 4 cores and 8 threads, with a base clock of 3.6 GHz and a maximum turbo clock of 4.3 GHz. It also has 6MB of L3 cache and a TDP of 65W.

Other than the lower price tag (the 10100's RCP is $122, while Amazon sells it for $115), a notable difference is the 10100F's lack of integrated graphics. For gaming, the 10100's UHD 630 graphics are not that attractive anyway, effectively replacing the iGPU with a lower cost. Even a low-budget gaming PC can be well served by a discrete GPU. [10100F is AMD's answer to the Ryzen 3 3300X. This is another quad-core part based on AMD's Zen 2 architecture, clocked at 3.8GHz to 4.3GHz and with 16MB of L3 cache. 3300X is rarely seen on retail sites and is "coming soon" at B&H Photo, $10 above the launch price It sells for $130.

Intel's 10100F is a savvy addition to the Comet Lake stack. It also disrupts the low-end market a bit. Just a few days ago, we praised the 3300X's value proposition and said that it didn't need to drop in price to be compelling. However, with the arrival of the 10100F, it wouldn't hurt to lower the price a bit. [3300X has more L3 cache, PCI Express 4.0 support, and an upgrade path to Zen 3, depending on motherboard selection.

The 10100F is AMD's answer to the Ryzen 3 3300X. This is another quad-core part based on AMD's Zen 2 architecture, clocked at 3.8GHz to 4.3GHz with 16MB of L3 cache. 3300X is rarely seen on retail sites and is "coming soon" at B&H Photo, $10 above the launch price It sells for $130.

Intel's 10100F is a savvy addition to the Comet Lake stack. It also muddies the waters a bit in the budget space. Just a few days ago, we praised the 3300X's value proposition and said it didn't need to drop in price to be compelling. However, with the arrival of the 10100F, it wouldn't hurt to lower the price a bit. [The 3300X has more L3 cache, PCI Express 4.0 support, and an upgrade path to Zen 3, depending on motherboard selection. Intel, on the other hand, should focus on getting its new chips into the hands of retailers, making price comparisons meaningless for the time being.